You remember the first time you got your ears pierced—dragging your mom to the mall, choosing a rhinestone stud from a plastic display set, and bracing yourself for a stranger to shoot a piercing gun into your flesh. It was literally scarring. That’s all a distant memory thanks to Ylang 23. The designer jewelry store, with locations in Dallas and Fort Worth, has reimagined the piercing experience.
Once a month, the Plaza at Preston Center boutique hosts local body piercing artist Afton Alexandra for an all-day pop-up party. Most women come in for second, third, and even fourth piercings, with some going all the way up the ear’s cartilage. According to Alysa Teichman—VP of business development, daughter of the owners, and the woman attached to the ear pictured here—the stacked earring look is “edgy and forward” yet a bit more demure than other hole-in-your-body options. “Moms are bringing their middle school daughters. We’ve had eighty somethings,” Teichman says. “It’s just fun.”
The $8,195 Pierced Ear
To get Teichman’s look: Carolina Bucci Florentine hoop, $1,400; Jennifer Meyer arrow, $2,000; Celine Daoust Constellation stud, $910; Maria Tash diamond lightning bolt, $315; eternity hoop, $775; diamond trinity stud, $400; invisible diamond eternity hoop, $1,525; and diamond studs, $795 each. The next piercing party is December 15, walk-ins only.
Piercings start at $20 with the purchase of an earring.
